"The Junkyard." Just the sound of those words is enough to get me salivating. The Bone Yard, The Wreckers, Auto Salvage Yard, Used Parts Recycler. In England they call it The Breakers. What ever you call it, I love them all. The world of possibilities is endless in the Junkyard. Think of it as a treasure hunt for the At Home Mechanic.
I love the junkyard for the parts that will fit my car and I love the junkyard for the parts that might fit my car. To search through stacks of derelict cars arranged by make or country of origin is a trip through a living encyclopedia of automotive theory. Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive. Three, four, five, six, eight, ten and twelve cylinders. Automatic and manual. It is all there in the junkyard.
I prefer to use brand new parts for critical components and for wear items like brakes and tires. But fender is a fender. After all, my car is used. So used parts will feel right at home on my car.
But not all junkyards are created equal. In fact some junkyards are down right elitist. As you can imagine, junkyards that specialize in luxury cars or foreign sports cars are not the same type of business as the guy who hauls away clunkers from the side of the road. The specialized junkyards generally operate their business from behind a counter: You walk up to a counter and ask for a particular part; they go fetch it from the inventory.
My favorite junkyards have a more common touch. And touch is the operative word because my favorite type of junkyard allows the customers to bring their own tools into the junkyard to strip off the parts they want. Known as "Pick and Pulls" or "Pick your Part" these yards charge a small admission price to enter the premises. Once the booty is collected, the customer presents their finds to the cashier and they are charged for their purchases. Because the customer provides the labor, the cost for parts is generally lower than other types of junkyards.
Other than providing being a source of inexpensive parts, the junkyard is also a laboratory for experimentation. Sometimes it is possible to fit high performance/heavy duty parts from one end a manufacturer's product line into a lighter car at the other end of the product line. But there are not guarantees that just because they come from the same car company, that parts will fit all of the company's offerings. Will that Crown Victoria master cylinder fit into my Mustang? Could I use a Passat seat in my Jetta? Will an Acura engine fit in my Honda? In the junkyard it is possible to test fit a particular part on a car similar to your own car without committing to a purchase.